Irish-gaelic Irish I Am Confused.

Home | Classroom | Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Words | Phrases | Countries | Languages

Phrasebase Archive

Tiger Tuesday 13th of June 2006 10:09:23 PM
Irish - I am confused. I would really like to know how to speak Irish. But, what language is spoken in Ireland? Is it Irish? Or is it Irish-Gaelic? As you can tell, I feel a little lost. If someone can help me please, I would be very happy. And once I get and answer to my question, then I will be looking for someone to teach it to me in exchange for basic German, or for English (my native tongue). So, please post an anwere soon before I go crazy with confusion. Thank you. Oh, the only word that I know in Irish is \"eejit\". Which I am told means idiot in English. Well, thanks for listening to all of my babble!

caeireann Thursday 15th of June 2006 05:47:34 AM
- The first official language of the country is Irish Gaelic. In Ireland we call the language Irish (in the English language) and Gaeilge (in the Irish language). It used to be the first language of the country, the language of all the people, but the English very much killed it 150 years ago as the language of the Irish people.

Ireland was really poor and the people had to leave the country to work and earn money for food so they had to go to England and America and the United States. However, you couldn\'t work if you couldn\'t speak English, so nearly everyone started to speak English and the Irish language nearly died. Today only about 3% of the country are native speakers, and only about 40% can speak it, with various degrees of compentance. The practical everyday language of the country is now English and has been for 150 years.

Today with all the immigration, Polish and Chinese Mandarin are very important languages.

(Republic of Ireland)
Official languages as under the constiution: Irish, English

(Northern Ireland)
English as the first language and Irish and Ulster Scots are recognised minority languages

Island of Ireland:
Spoken Languages in order of number of speakers: English, Chinese, Polish, Irish
Historical languages (still alive): Irish, English, Scots, Cant

Does that answer your question?

There are still people alive who can only speak Irish but apart from children under 5 they are very few and far between. Nearly every Irish person can speak English so that is the language most used. :( *snif*

On that point. The English most used in Ireland is either of two dialects, south Hibero English or north Hoberno English. The first is English heavily influenced by the Irish Gaelic language. The second is the same but with the added influence of Scots and in particular Ulster Scots (Ullans).

Most Irish people, especially thoses in rural areas speak English as if they were speaking Irish, so they may even use Irish words, or a mix of both language, and often make use of Irish grammatical structures. Therefore the English spoken in Ireland and especially that spoken in Northern Ireland are very different from what one would learn in school, in English as a Foreign Language classes.

So what do you want to learn when you say you want to speak the language of Ireland?

Irish Gaelic?
Hiberno-English?
Ulster Scots?

At any rate: eejit is a Hiberno-English word, NOT an Irish-Gaelic word.

English: idiot/ fool
Hiberno-English: eejit
Irish Gaelic: amadán, óinseach

Irish Gaelic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Gaelic
http://www.gaeilge.ie/

Ulster Scots:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Scots_dialect
http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/

Hiberno-English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiberno_English

Words in English of Irish origin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Irish_origin

Cant/ Shelta Language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelta

sue_gaeilgeoir Thursday 29th of June 2006 11:46:19 PM
- i\'d say Ulster Scots is more of a dialect of english than an actual language in itself... but yes, to answer your question, Gaeilge is the ancient/native language of Ireland, but English is mostly spoken. irish is growing though =D

Tiger Saturday 01st of July 2006 03:17:28 AM
- ok, thank you both for your help!

caeireann Sunday 02nd of July 2006 01:46:44 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by sue_gaeilgeoir[/i]

i\'d say Ulster Scots is more of a dialect of english than an actual language in itself... but yes, to answer your question, Gaeilge is the ancient/native language of Ireland, but English is mostly spoken. irish is growing though =D[/quote]

Haigh a Sue. As Béal Feirste tú nach ea? Nó an bhfuil tú ach i do chónaí ann?

As regards Ulster Scots...it is indead hard to draw the line between where Ulster Scots starts and Ulster English ends, as the both influence the other, and often speakers switch between the two languages or mix them without noticing. For those of you who do not know, Ulster Scots is a dialect of the Scottish language, Scots, which is the closest language to English.

Sample text in Scots
The Scots Leid Associe wis foondit in 1972 an ettles tae fordle Scots in leeteratur, drama, the media, eddication an in ilka day uiss. Akis Scots wis ance the state langage o Scotland, it\'s a vailid pairt o wir heirskip an the associe taks tent tae the fact that it shoud can tak its steid as a langage o Scotland, alang wi Gaelic an Inglis.

Translation
The Scots Language Society was founded in 1972 and exists to promote Scots in literature, drama, the media, education and in every day usage. Since Scots was once the state language of Scotland, it is a valid part of our heritage and the society recognises that it should be able to take its place as a language of Scotland, along with Gaelic and English.
(http://www.omniglot.com/writing/scots.htm)

Sample of Ulster Scots:
Wur music bes fu o life...jus tha saime es wor fowkgate!
Our music is full of life...just like our culture!
(http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/culture-us.asp)

sue_gaeilgeoir Tuesday 04th of July 2006 04:49:13 AM
- tá, is as béal feirste mé. if it is a language, then anyone from the north is bilingual- u just need to put on a broad accent .. well, fair play if it is a language! but its the same verbs, structure, same everything as english but spelt phoenetically, really. ive nothin against it though!

Himura_Hinata Thursday 10th of May 2007 06:21:48 AM
- I\'m not entirely sure, but this is what I\'ve found just through perusing online and in the language section at the local bookstores:

-\"Irish\" specifically refers to Irish Gaelic
-\"Gaelic\" specifically refers to Scots Gaelic

I\'m not entirely sure about this, but one of the books mentioned that since both languages are technically Gaelic, people started refering to Irish Gaelic as just Irish and Scots Gaelic as just Scottish.

caeireann Sunday 17th of June 2007 12:13:36 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Himura_Hinata[/i]

I\'m not entirely sure, but this is what I\'ve found just through perusing online and in the language section at the local bookstores:

-\\\"Irish\\\" specifically refers to Irish Gaelic
-\\\"Gaelic\\\" specifically refers to Scots Gaelic

I\'m not entirely sure about this, but one of the books mentioned that since both languages are technically Gaelic, people started refering to Irish Gaelic as just Irish and Scots Gaelic as just Scottish.[/quote]

Actually to be correct the languages are Gaeilge na hÃ‰ireann / Irish Gaelic and GÃ idhlig na h-Alba / Scottish Gaelic but colloquially (non-linguistically speaking) one says Irish and Gaelic.

One says Irish because Irish Gaelic is the national language of Ireland according to the Irish language version of the constitution and English is \'an\' official language. (In the English version Irish is the first language and English is the second).

One can\'t say Scottish though because Scotland has three recognised languages: English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. If you say \'Scottish\' it would cause confusion between Scots and Scottish Gaelic so people just colloquially say Gaelic.

Phrasebase Archive
	Tiger	Tuesday 13th of June 2006 10:09:23 PM
	Irish - I am confused. I would really like to know how to speak Irish. But, what language is spoken in Ireland? Is it Irish? Or is it Irish-Gaelic? As you can tell, I feel a little lost. If someone can help me please, I would be very happy. And once I get and answer to my question, then I will be looking for someone to teach it to me in exchange for basic German, or for English (my native tongue). So, please post an anwere soon before I go crazy with confusion. Thank you. Oh, the only word that I know in Irish is \"eejit\". Which I am told means idiot in English. Well, thanks for listening to all of my babble!
	caeireann	Thursday 15th of June 2006 05:47:34 AM
	- The first official language of the country is Irish Gaelic. In Ireland we call the language Irish (in the English language) and Gaeilge (in the Irish language). It used to be the first language of the country, the language of all the people, but the English very much killed it 150 years ago as the language of the Irish people. Ireland was really poor and the people had to leave the country to work and earn money for food so they had to go to England and America and the United States. However, you couldn\'t work if you couldn\'t speak English, so nearly everyone started to speak English and the Irish language nearly died. Today only about 3% of the country are native speakers, and only about 40% can speak it, with various degrees of compentance. The practical everyday language of the country is now English and has been for 150 years. Today with all the immigration, Polish and Chinese Mandarin are very important languages. (Republic of Ireland) Official languages as under the constiution: Irish, English (Northern Ireland) English as the first language and Irish and Ulster Scots are recognised minority languages Island of Ireland: Spoken Languages in order of number of speakers: English, Chinese, Polish, Irish Historical languages (still alive): Irish, English, Scots, Cant Does that answer your question? There are still people alive who can only speak Irish but apart from children under 5 they are very few and far between. Nearly every Irish person can speak English so that is the language most used. :( snif On that point. The English most used in Ireland is either of two dialects, south Hibero English or north Hoberno English. The first is English heavily influenced by the Irish Gaelic language. The second is the same but with the added influence of Scots and in particular Ulster Scots (Ullans). Most Irish people, especially thoses in rural areas speak English as if they were speaking Irish, so they may even use Irish words, or a mix of both language, and often make use of Irish grammatical structures. Therefore the English spoken in Ireland and especially that spoken in Northern Ireland are very different from what one would learn in school, in English as a Foreign Language classes. So what do you want to learn when you say you want to speak the language of Ireland? Irish Gaelic? Hiberno-English? Ulster Scots? At any rate: eejit is a Hiberno-English word, NOT an Irish-Gaelic word. English: idiot/ fool Hiberno-English: eejit Irish Gaelic: amadán, óinseach Irish Gaelic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Gaelic http://www.gaeilge.ie/ Ulster Scots: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Scots_dialect http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/ Hiberno-English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiberno_English Words in English of Irish origin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Irish_origin Cant/ Shelta Language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelta
	sue_gaeilgeoir	Thursday 29th of June 2006 11:46:19 PM
	- i\'d say Ulster Scots is more of a dialect of english than an actual language in itself... but yes, to answer your question, Gaeilge is the ancient/native language of Ireland, but English is mostly spoken. irish is growing though =D
	Tiger	Saturday 01st of July 2006 03:17:28 AM
	- ok, thank you both for your help!
	caeireann	Sunday 02nd of July 2006 01:46:44 AM
	- [quote][i]Originally posted by sue_gaeilgeoir[/i] i\'d say Ulster Scots is more of a dialect of english than an actual language in itself... but yes, to answer your question, Gaeilge is the ancient/native language of Ireland, but English is mostly spoken. irish is growing though =D[/quote] Haigh a Sue. As Béal Feirste tú nach ea? Nó an bhfuil tú ach i do chónaí ann? As regards Ulster Scots...it is indead hard to draw the line between where Ulster Scots starts and Ulster English ends, as the both influence the other, and often speakers switch between the two languages or mix them without noticing. For those of you who do not know, Ulster Scots is a dialect of the Scottish language, Scots, which is the closest language to English. Sample text in Scots The Scots Leid Associe wis foondit in 1972 an ettles tae fordle Scots in leeteratur, drama, the media, eddication an in ilka day uiss. Akis Scots wis ance the state langage o Scotland, it\'s a vailid pairt o wir heirskip an the associe taks tent tae the fact that it shoud can tak its steid as a langage o Scotland, alang wi Gaelic an Inglis. Translation The Scots Language Society was founded in 1972 and exists to promote Scots in literature, drama, the media, education and in every day usage. Since Scots was once the state language of Scotland, it is a valid part of our heritage and the society recognises that it should be able to take its place as a language of Scotland, along with Gaelic and English. (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/scots.htm) Sample of Ulster Scots: Wur music bes fu o life...jus tha saime es wor fowkgate! Our music is full of life...just like our culture! (http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/culture-us.asp)
	sue_gaeilgeoir	Tuesday 04th of July 2006 04:49:13 AM
	- tá, is as béal feirste mé. if it is a language, then anyone from the north is bilingual- u just need to put on a broad accent .. well, fair play if it is a language! but its the same verbs, structure, same everything as english but spelt phoenetically, really. ive nothin against it though!
	Himura_Hinata	Thursday 10th of May 2007 06:21:48 AM
	- I\'m not entirely sure, but this is what I\'ve found just through perusing online and in the language section at the local bookstores: -\"Irish\" specifically refers to Irish Gaelic -\"Gaelic\" specifically refers to Scots Gaelic I\'m not entirely sure about this, but one of the books mentioned that since both languages are technically Gaelic, people started refering to Irish Gaelic as just Irish and Scots Gaelic as just Scottish.
	caeireann	Sunday 17th of June 2007 12:13:36 AM
	- [quote][i]Originally posted by Himura_Hinata[/i] I\'m not entirely sure, but this is what I\'ve found just through perusing online and in the language section at the local bookstores: -\\\"Irish\\\" specifically refers to Irish Gaelic -\\\"Gaelic\\\" specifically refers to Scots Gaelic I\'m not entirely sure about this, but one of the books mentioned that since both languages are technically Gaelic, people started refering to Irish Gaelic as just Irish and Scots Gaelic as just Scottish.[/quote] Actually to be correct the languages are Gaeilge na hÃ‰ireann / Irish Gaelic and GÃ idhlig na h-Alba / Scottish Gaelic but colloquially (non-linguistically speaking) one says Irish and Gaelic. One says Irish because Irish Gaelic is the national language of Ireland according to the Irish language version of the constitution and English is \'an\' official language. (In the English version Irish is the first language and English is the second). One can\'t say Scottish though because Scotland has three recognised languages: English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. If you say \'Scottish\' it would cause confusion between Scots and Scottish Gaelic so people just colloquially say Gaelic.